


Homework, Brooms, and Halloween Havoc

by Amledo



Series: Changed Perspectives [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Friendship, Gen, Good!Draco, Good!Dursleys, Good!Severus, Mentors, Ravenclaw!Hermione, Ravenclaw!Twins, Slytherin!Harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-15
Updated: 2013-03-22
Packaged: 2017-11-29 09:51:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/685612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amledo/pseuds/Amledo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>is there redemption for Ron Weasley?  How will the school deal with a Harry that doesn't break curfew or get in trouble every other class?  As the small boy continues to recover, how will his friends help him deal with new energy?<br/>Covering the end of Harry's first week at Hogwarts, the infamous Flying lessons, and a certain Troll incident with a new spin.  See personalities and relationships from a new perspective and appreciate characters that you have always loved in a whole new light.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

They were all ready to experience their first weekend of being official Hogwarts students together. Everyone was excited; it could be felt in the chatter that filled the halls and the general mood of the Common Rooms. Even Harry Potter, normally exhausted and required to avoid excitement was bursting with an unusual amount of energy. Of course that was probably more to do with the potion that Madam Pomfrey had given him after classes the day before, but he could pretend otherwise.

True he had spent most of the night wrapped in blankets and Draco's arms to stay warm, but once he had managed to eat dinner he had felt endlessly better. Draco hadn't let him use any of that energy on homework but had settled for letting Harry do some recreational writing. Apparently there was a story that he had started well before receiving his Hogwarts letter, about what it would be like to go to a muggle school for the rest of his school career. Draco found it quite interesting.

Though it was Saturday and all of their meals were served an hour late so that students had the chance to sleep in, Harry and Draco were up and dressed by 6:30 am. They had agreed that they would get an early start on their homework as they had some in nearly every class and had missed working on it the night before.

Both boys were in the Common Room, having taken over one of the smaller loveseats and a table, which they had been forced to drag into line with their seating choice. Their heads were bent over their History of Magic essays, quills scratching away without pause. Harry had been reading History books since he was old enough to understand the words, so it came easily for him. Draco was already ahead of the class by three chapters and for him the toughest part of the homework was keeping the points that he wanted to make confined to the chapter that they were on. Thankfully they both had taken notes and those were laid out on the rest of the table so that they could keep to the most important topics.

"Man, I thought I got up early," Blaise a first year like them, one of the less brutish ones, said too loudly as he flew into an arm chair close to the fire. He was shushed by several members of the higher years that had posted themselves around the room in pairs and trios to work on their homework. Harry figured that they were probably long standing favorite spots and made a point of not to sit in any of them.

"You guys, it's the first week. Why are you wasting a Saturday to do homework? It doesn't make a bit of sense to me. Aren't you at all interested in what's going on with the 3rd floor corridor? No one has talked about the break-in at Gringotts. You're all so frustrating!" Blaise stated, looking right at Harry and Draco, attempting to them to pay attention. But neither boy really cared about the frustration of the other boy.

"Most painful death. Or didn't you hear that part? And the Goblins sort out their own business. So yes, schoolwork Blaise," Harry said, thinking of the meeting that he would have with Professor Snape, his head of house either later that day or on Sunday. He didn't know exactly when the Professor was visiting his family, but he couldn't wait to know what had been found out.

"Spoilsport. You could at least do your homework after breakfast," Blaise responded with a cheeky smile on his lips. Draco rolled his eyes and dropped his quill to his blotter paper, his irritation obvious.

"We are going to be doing our homework after breakfast as well. So that we can spend time with some of our friends in the Library, where it will be quiet," Draco said and demonstrated his school bag by waving it around, showing that it was full of books.

Blaise fell silent, looking embarrassed that the majority of the Common Room seemed to be on Harry and Draco's side about the noise level. The two boys were able to finish their essays in peace. They cleaned up their table, proud of themselves for having completed their first assignment and glad to be free of the weight of the book. They dropped their text books on the shelves and stored their assignments in their desks.

By then it was just about breakfast time so they took their bags and raced each other to the Great Hall. Harry was laughing madly at the odd feeling of energy flowing through him and actually letting him run. The other kids at their table grinned brightly in response, they had very quickly gotten used to Harry and his lack of energy. Some of them, the ones that had been enlisted to levitate Harry back to the dorms, even clapped the First Year on the back.

"Calm down everyone or Potter will waste all of that energy, and then he won't have any for Monday," advised Markus Flint, the captain of the Slytherin House Quidditch team. Harry and Draco both looked up, confused by the comment. The Captain didn't seem to notice.

"What's Monday?" Harry asked at last, figuring that Markus wouldn't volunteer the information. Harry was assembling a stack of waffles and dousing them in melted butter and syrup, the syrup just happened to get all over his customary pile of sausage and bacon and some of the butter landed on his eggs. He was already through his goblet of milk and poured himself some coffee. No one was shocked by the way he ate, not anymore at least. If he were to eat lunch however, the entire table might just pause and watch the spectacle, because they knew that a potion and some pumpkin juice were all that he ever had.

"All First Year students have their first flying lesson. I will be assisting Madam Hooch since I am one of the four Captains. Have you ever been on a broom before?" Markus said and Harry's face flamed red at the question.

"I was raised in a Muggle family, so no, never at all. Will that be unusual?" Harry was glad that his voice didn't shake, but he was embarrassed to have to ask the question at all. He had always been self-conscious about the fact that he didn't know everything there was to know about being a normal Wizard.

"No, don't worry. Most parents are too afraid of their kids getting hurt to let them try it before school, because most parents don't know how to teach proper technique. You won't be alone," the older boy assured softly and Harry caught a smile of relief on Draco's lips. It was good to not be alone; he didn't really want to stand out more than he already did.

They finished their breakfast in silence after that and stood to leave. Harry wobbled slightly at the weight of his bag, but regained himself easily. Hermione followed next and then Neville after her. As they left the Great Hall none of them felt the sad gaze of Ron Weasley on their backs.


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and his friends have a day of group study before receiving a summons from Professor Snape.

The Library on a Saturday morning, contained OWL students, NEWT students, Ravenclaws, and a scattering of members of other Houses in fairly equal proportion. Harry, Hermione, Draco and Neville were the only first year students that had made it there thus far. It was a realm of quiet, the Librarian Madam Pince seemed to exude a controlling aura that demanded silence, and none of them dared to disobey.

The four of them sat together at a table, text books and notes covering the entire surface of it. For their first assignment they had gone with Potions, which Harry was well versed enough in to help them out when theory proved complex. Neville had the most trouble with the subject, constantly shaking his head and squinting at the page. Harry had fixed that issue by removing Neville's wand from his person, placing it next to a stack of books. The other boy seemed bothered by it for a moment, glaring death at his wand before turning back to their work. He found it much easier to understand after that.

When it was time to work on Herbology, Neville was the star and they all listened raptly as he told them interesting tidbits about the plants which had not been covered in class. They figured that he was good at the subject because of how much time he had spent in the gardens at his Grandmother's house. He had to have learned much of it over the years, and from what he told them, he was growing a few basic herbs and plants in his dorm room.

None of them had much luck with Astronomy, though Draco was excellent at drawing the star maps and charts. It astounded them how confident he could be, drawing with a quill rather than a pencil or anything else correctable. The blonde boy was able to free-hand several things, but he had thought to bring his art set, which included several compasses and protractors and the others were able to complete their charts with the aid of said tools.

Charms were most definitely Hermione's strong suit. She took to them like Harry did to Potions. It was from her that they learned the proper way to hold their wand or the exact motion necessary when they themselves could not figure it out. There hadn't been much of that, but the few times it had come up among them, Hermione had quietly corrected them, blushing all the while. She was always in a book, her fingers always smudged with ink from the notes that she took, and her hair constantly snarled from where she twisted her fingers into it while working. But it was true beyond a measure of doubt, that she deserved her place in Ravenclaw.

Where Transfiguration was concerned, Draco seemed to have an uncanny knack for the art. He had only ever studied the theory, but when he put it to work for him, he knew that he had found something that he could do. It came so readily to him that he had earned Slytherin House points nearly every class period for his sheer adeptness. Even Neville, with a wand that restrained him, was able to perform admirably at the subject. Harry suspected though, that most teachers were able to somehow interfere with the Limiter Wand because Neville was always much better in class than he was out of it.

The only class where they didn't have homework was Defense Against the Dark Arts or DADA as everyone called it. Their Professor Quirrell, well he was a little odd. He wore a turban and stank of garlic, he stuttered all of the time, except when he was talking to himself, and he gave Harry a throbbing headache. He didn't seem to care about them actually learning anything and got jumpy when they asked him about anything vaguely resembling a curse. That and everyone knew that the rest of the teaching staff was watching him with poorly veiled distrust.

They had just finished their homework and were considering going out on the grounds (after putting their books away of course) to get some fresh air when a Prefect turned up with a note in hand. He stared at Harry for a long moment, as though checking to see if it really was Harry Potter that he was looking at. But Harry had gotten used to that, he was the Boy Who Lived after all, and though he didn't want the title, he knew that it ensured some strange looks for him. The Prefect was gone as soon as the note was in Harry's hand. From several Potions lessons, Harry recognized that his name H. Potter had been written by Professor Snape.

His friends stared silently at the note in his hand, they all knew the business that the Professor had gone to attend to and their faces were grim. Harry had slowly come to understand that it could be very bad if someone was in fact tampering with his vault, as that was where his Hogwarts tuition came from and the money that was set aside for him to take an Apprenticeship on. Having regularly seen the statements that belonged to his savings account in the muggle world, Harry knew that there must have been quite a lot in that vault, because he had loads in his savings. With a quick flick of his fingers he broke the wax seal and opened the note.

Mr. Potter

I have attended to the matter of your family and your health as per your request. If you please, I would like to see you in my office to discuss a few matters. Your friends may accompany you if you so choose, I understand that these can be trying matters. Come at once if possible.

Sincerely,

Professor S. Snape

They all read the note carefully, knowing that Harry had not wanted anyone to risk knowing that Harry was aware of his vault being in jeopardy. But since they were all together anyway, they decided that they would go with Harry, because they wanted to be by his side. No one would think that it was weird if a Harry had a few friends that wanted to support him through a potentially frightening talk about his health. There might be a few raised eyebrows about that talk happening with Professor Snape, but even then it was explainable since Snape was Harry's Head of House.

They left the Library silently; Harry held the door so that Ron Weasley, burdened by books, could get inside without trouble. For a brief moment Ron's blue eyes, which had always seemed strangely cloudy when compared to his brothers' met Harry's and Harry saw sadness. He forced a smile onto his lips and followed his friends in the direction of the Dungeons.


	3. Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Professor Snape reveals what he learned when he met with Harry's relatives.

The walk to the dungeons and consequently Professor Snape's office was quite a long one as no one would reasonably think to put such a large number of rare and valuable books in such damp conditions. Harry himself had seen the effects of basement libraries in the muggle world and believed that being under a lake would only compound the problem of moisture getting where it ought not to. Slytherin House had a library, but it was small and well warded with powerful charms that would be difficult to recreate over such a large space as the main Library and Hogwarts.

The potion had done its job well, the walk, even burdened by most of his school texts, did not take much out of Harry at all. In fact he felt much like he could walk that same distance six or seven times over and not feel the least bit of fatigue. Such a fact made him wish dearly that Dudley was there with him so that they could have races or maybe play a few rounds of one-on-one rugby. But that wasn't the case and so he resolved to at least write a letter to his cousin to tell him about the amazing potion that he had been given, and the spell work that had been done in secret to help begin lifting his curse. He also hoped that they would be able to take Dudley to St. Mungo's hospital so that he could be assessed for spell damage as well.

"Harry, we're here. Are you alright?" Neville said, noticing that Harry's face looked drawn and unable to tell whether it was from fear or concern or something else entirely.

"What? Oh, right. No, I am fine, I was just thinking about my cousin. Let's get this over with," Harry said at last as he tried to square his shoulders and set his jaw, attempting to look ready to have a serious adult conversation. He missed the mark, but his friends smiled reassuringly anyway.

They had taken too long outside of Professor Snape's office, it seemed, because just as Harry raised his hand to knock on the portrait it swung open and their tall dark Potions Professor waved them in silently. He looked far more stressed than he did even when he was teaching a class and Harry knew that it wasn't a good thing. Now more nervous than ever, he was unable to keep up his more adult façade and followed the Professor into the office with his heart in his throat.

"Greetings Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy, and Mr. Longbottom. I think it a good thing that all of you are here for this. It is rather concerning news, just not the sort that I expected to have to give," Professor Snape said as he took a seat at his desk and summoned enough chairs for them all to sit down in. Harry sat right in front of his Head of House, bag dropped beside him, fingers twisting together in his lap.

"Professor?" he asked at last, when the news did not seem to be forthcoming. He looked up into dark black-brown eyes and saw something like sympathy, a look that he guessed was not entirely normal for the man any longer.

"I arrived at your relations home early this morning. They greeted me quite happily, your Aunt Petunia and I were friends in our youth, your Mother Lily mad sure of that. But I did not expect young Mr. Dursley to be there. It seems that your relations brought him home for the weekend so that I might examine him. I admit to having some training as a Healer, but I did not expect there to be such a simple curse laid on him that my limited knowledge could detect it. Obviously the person that cursed you both put all the effort into you, Mr. Potter, thinking that your cousin would never come anywhere near a magical examination," Harry's knuckles were white where he was gripping his thighs and his eyes were wide. Hermione and Neville pried his hands away and Draco seized his shoulders. It was perhaps Harry's worst fear confirmed.

"Dudley was cursed as well?" the undersized boy said in a weak voice, all of the energy that the potion had given him was suddenly gone from his body and he wanted to cry.

"Yes, likely to ensure that your relatives allotted him much more food than yourself. I was able to reverse this curse, as it was not set nearly so deeply or with so much strength as yours. Young Mr. Dursley will in fact be himself, his real self, again with a few months of proper diet and exercise. You may find yourself with an entirely new cousin come winter holiday," Professor Snape said, and gave a smile to the obviously panicked boy. Harry sagged in relief, his shoulders slumping beneath Draco's grip and hands going lax against Hermione and Neville's grip.

"Good, that's good news," Harry breathed, voice coming back to him slightly as he allowed himself to be tipped back against Draco's chest. His housemate was an expert in comforting the distressed, a talent learned from a doting Healer of a Mother. Harry was just grateful to have such a friend, and that Draco was not shy about helping the other students as well.

"Indeed. He also requested that I make sure that you know that none of them would ever blame you for such a thing. Now, onto the real business. Your Gringotts vault has indeed been tampered with, but it is something that you already know about. The weekly stipend that goes into your muggle account is the only activity that has been registered on the account since your birth. All of the other Potter and Evans vaults are intact and untouched. We left the stipend as is; your relatives believe that you would wish to have a muggle College fund so that you might continue with your writing. But your vaults have been locked down. Now, until you come of age only your own magical signature, taken from the parchment you signed, or your Aunt's or Uncle's may be used to access your primary vault. All others are permanently closed until you come of age," Professor Snape pushed a few signed documents toward Harry. They verified what he had said and were quickly tucked away into Harry's school bag.

"Thank you Professor Sir," Harry said with a grateful smile and a slight blush at having to have his personal business sorted out by those more capable than himself.

"Think nothing of it Mr. Potter. We also managed to ensure that if questioned about the matter, the Goblins will be quite stubborn and indeed outright refuse information. They are no fans of subtle thieves. And since they will give nothing up to interested parties, it will remain as if you have no knowledge of the situation. Any official Owl concerning your vault and potential intruders will be sent to Mrs. Dursley and she will forward it to either you or myself, depending upon the concern," Professor Snape said and Harry nodded, sensing that the conversation had come to an end.

"Thank you very much Professor. I don't know what I would have done were these things not brought to my attention or were you unable to help. My friends and I are finished with our school work and were hoping to spend some time on the grounds. But I'm afraid that this conversation has taken quite a bit out of me. Could I trouble you for a Nutrient potion?" Harry said, blushing fiercely as the Professor shot a quick scanning spell at him.

"Very well Mr. Potter. For the grounds and what I hope will be actual play and not more study, I will give you the 1000 calorie dose. You should get quite a while out of this one," Professor Snape said and summoned the phial that he had mentioned. Harry thanked him and drank it down, grateful for the variation as Vegetable and Chicken had gotten rather boring and Beef was his favorite.

They were then shooed off out the door and after a quick trip back to dormitories to replace bags, they descended on the grounds in a fit of childish glee.


	4. Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flying lessons at last.

Monday morning dawned grey and misty, as most mornings did on Hogwarts grounds. Harry and Draco found themselves showered and reviewing their homework well before any of their other year mates and enjoyed the quiet of the common room. Their entire morning was dedicated to flying lessons, something that both boys had come to view with mixed feelings of dread and excitement. Dread because neither of them had a single clue about how to fly a broom, Harry having lived with muggles who were supposed to be terrified of the magical world and Draco because of his mother's over-protective streak. But there was excitement, especially on Harry's part, because he had energy to burn, and he had been very nearly assured that flying would do just that.

"Do you think that we will really fly like Markus said? Or just sort of hover? I know we aren't allowed to play Quidditch but maybe it wouldn't be so bad to fly recreationally?" Harry said nerves obvious in his voice as he and Draco walked down to breakfast. The blonde boy actually chewed his lip a little as he thought, his brow furrowed slightly, such flaws in appearance made Harry smile, his friend spent too much time trying to be perfect.

"I think that we will work up to flying. I mean, they can't keep us trailing our toes on the ground forever. It may only be a warm-weather class, but I know that it is a skill that both of my parents picked up when they attended school here," Draco said, the consideration obvious in his tone. He spoke of his father rather often, but then so did Harry. Draco's father hadn't played Quidditch, Harry's had, Aunt Petunia had showed him pictures, and his father was quite the prodigy. Only for a brief moment did he consider what it might be like to know nothing of his parents and he shuddered at the thought.

"Good point. I hope it is sooner rather than later. I would hate to be sick again when the fun stuff started," Harry said, finding some of his previous agitation and fear crawling away from his mind. He gulped down the Nutrient Potion that appeared for him with a slight smile, Vegetable flavor had been the order of the day that was a good sign. Then with a smile, then threw a stack of pancakes and sausages on his plate, stacked some bacon atop the mess and shoved hash browns around the pile like a nest. Both Madam Pomfrey and Professor Snape had told him to maintain his regular breakfast diet as he was still burning through calories at an accelerated rate, and so he hadn't changed a thing about it.

Neville and Hermione both joined them at the Slytherin table when breakfast began to wind down, neither seemed thrilled about the flying classes. Hermione still looked a little green and confessed to having eaten only an apple for her own breakfast while Neville was swishing his wand angrily back and forth, small jets of red sparks bouncing around it in agitation.

"First Years to me!" came the loud call of Madam Hooch, the Quidditch trainer and flying instructor. She had hawk's eyes and a messy crop of hair, Harry thought that she looked rather fierce and more than a little stern. He figured that much like Professor Snape, she had to be stern because she was responsible for a class that could result in a serious injury if taught improperly. It was reassuring.

They all scrambled to queue up at the doors to the entrance hall, the four friends standing on line near the middle of the pack, each focused on the warm breeze drifting in from outdoors. It was a last gasp of summer, so far north, and everyone knew it. They would enjoy the weather while it lasted, perhaps even use the rest of the morning period to relax beside the lake.

"I will have no funny business, no one will leave the ground before I say so and none of you will fly before I decide that you are ready. Understood?" she said sternly and was answered resoundingly in the affirmative. A small smile graced her lips, seeming rare and barely allowed as she gestured for them to line up beside the rows of brooms that had been set out for their use. Obviously school property, the brooms looked beaten up and out of date, some of the Pureblood children were sneering in distaste.

Though, none of the children looked at all confident, good, she decided, they were in a good place.

"Now, for some of you flying might prove to be the most uncomfortable thing in the world. For others, it will be as natural as holding a wand. I don't want anyone to feel discouraged or over-confident. You are all starting on the same level, novice, and no one should believe otherwise. But I promise to you, that by the end of the school year, you will all be able to fly a broom with enough confidence to get yourselves from point A to point B with relative ease," she said, walking up and down the rows of students, her own broom clasped in her hand.

"Madam Hooch?" the Quidditch captains had arrived on scene, all in their gear, brooms in hand. Oliver Wood stood at their head, taller than the others, though thinner than them as well. They all looked confident and capable, Harry felt reassured once more.

"Ah, excellent timing gentlemen! Everyone take a row! Now students put your brooms on you wand side and hold out your hands. Captains, correct posture please," she waited as the Captains walked the lines and made the appropriate adjustments. "Alright, now, in a clear confident voice, say 'up' and be ready to catch!" she said firmly. The entire class stiffened in response before complying with her command.

Most of them got a response on the first try. Harry's broom smacked into his palm at once, seeming to belong there, as natural as his wand, just as Madam Hooch had said. Draco took a try or two to get his voice firm enough, but received nearly the same response. The old beaten broom beside Hermione began to rise several times, but dropped before reaching half way as the girl seemed to flinch away from its mere presence. A grunt of frustration sounded from Neville and Harry turned to see the broom rolling uselessly around on the ground. The other boy took a deep breath and seemed to change; Harry noted the wand dropped in the grass beside him, and with a cold word, the broom rose.

Ron's broom jumped up and smacked him squarely in the nose, causing him to stumble and clasp his hands to his face, blood already gleaming on the grass. He looked at once confused and afraid, his wand dropped from his robe pocket and rolled toward the Gryffindor pack. Dean snatched the thing up with an evil grin.

Madam Hooch rushed forward to inspect the injury as Dean slipped the wand into his waistband. Ron was crying, Madam Hooch had fixed his nose with a single spell, but he was terrified. He didn't seem to have any idea of where he was or how he had gotten there. Harry frowned critically; Madam Hooch was insisting that a trip to the Hospital Wing was in order, and that Ron must have a concussion. But there were spells that could mess with the mind, and Harry suspected that one had been at work on Ron.

He silently summoned Ron's wand to himself as the Captains stepped up to collect the brooms from the abruptly dismissed students. Harry handed his over without protest and gathered Draco, Neville, and Hermione to his side. With a quick explanation he watched the horrified expressions that crossed their faces, Neville in particular seemed offended. They agreed to wait some time before going to the Hospital Wing; they were all regular enough visitors to the place that Madam Pomfrey wouldn't question their presence. Harry for one was intensely interested to know what sort of changes would have come over Ron Weasley. But for the moment he joined his friends on the banks of the lake.


	5. Part 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we learn something of the truth of Ron Weasley.

They spent almost three hours out on the grounds, relaxing in the sun on the banks of the lake. The period of freedom was entirely unexpected, but for most, it was certainly not unwelcome. Hermione used their time to instate a round of quizzing, with each of them asking the most complicated questions that they could dredge from their homework. But they had set themselves to a task, and so when it was an hour before their lunch period, they made their way into the castle. Once again, if anyone asked why the four students were not out enjoying the weather as children their age ought to, they would explain it away with Harry's condition.

And, after a few hours in the sun, Harry's body was feeling sleepy and relaxed enough to pass for exhausted. He was walking with his arm linked in Hermione's; Draco was on his other side, waiting to catch Harry if he should stumble. Neville brought up the rear, falling into though, his expression clouded, wand once more spinning between his fingers, warm purple sparks spouting lazily from the tip.

"You don't have to do this, Harry. You know that. If you don't want to…we can give the wand to a Professor and explain our suspicions," Neville offered, obviously concerned for Harry when he remembered the behavior of the other boy two weeks ago on the train. Harry appreciated the concern, and in that moment Neville reminded him of Dudley, causing that familiar ache to flare in Harry's chest. He had just written to his cousin the night before, and had received a bundle of letters from his Aunt the morning before that, but he couldn't help missing them. There was no way that he could understand the other students and their seemingly desperate desire for freedom from their families. Perhaps unlike Harry, Draco, and Neville, they had no idea what it felt like to know that something would always be missing from their families.

"No, I know I don't have to Neville. But I want to, you know? I owe him the chance. I need to see if he was really cursed or if he thought it would be good to fake it. Think about Fred and George and Percy, they are all really good people, and so is the rest of their family. You can't think that Ron turned out wrong just by chance," Harry said calmly, stating the obvious thing that they had all been avoiding. Fred and George had tried not to think about it, believing that they had gone wrong with their little brother instead of dreaming that he had been cursed, though Harry knew that they hoped it would be a curse. After all, who really wanted to believe that their sibling was simply a bad seed?

"Right. But Neville, we need you there for sure. You have more experience with mind magic than the rest of us…you'll watch real close?" Hermione said carefully, a smile on her lips as Neville gave an affirmative nod. He didn't like the fact brought up, because he hated what had happened to his parents, but he had studied mind magic extensively enough to know quite a lot about it. Harry brightened as well; obviously not comfortable with the idea of having to be the one that figured out if Ron was still cursed.

They continued along the way to the Hospital Wing, Harry lightly swinging Ron's misplaced wand around like a conductor's baton, feeling odd as angry yellow sparks shot out and sizzled against the floor. By the time that he reached the Hospital Wing, he was convinced that the wand hated him and was thoroughly glad to be able to get rid of the foul thing.

His thoughts trailed off into nothing however, when he opened the doors to the infirmary and saw Ron sitting on one of the beds, curled up between Fred and George, sobbing hysterically. Percy sat on the end of the bed, facing Ron, hands stretched out and resting comfortingly against Ron's shins. Pain, at the thought of Dudley in such a situation twisted Harry's heart up in his chest and he choked, looking for words as he led his group of friends to the bed. All thoughts of how Ron had acted before were chased out of his mind as he saw the other boy in such obvious pain. More so, he was disturbed to see Fred and George visibly shaking with tears, Percy looked like he had had a good cry himself, but had managed to put himself back together again.

"Ron?" Harry asked softly, concern prominent on his face as he forgot all at once the skepticism with which he was supposed to be regarding the other boy. The trembling red head managed to look up at him, face bright red and blotchy, hair a mess, eyes bloodshot, but the clearest blue that Harry had ever seen them.

"That's me," Ron managed to say, clearing his throat slightly, "Who are you? Were you…were you my friend?" Ron added in a whisper, desperate for information about himself, though Harry figured that no one really had that. Instead Harry smiled at the other boy and prepared a relative truth to tell him, hopefully one that wouldn't result in a new animosity between the pair.

"I'm Harry Potter. We weren't friends, although I consider your brothers to be my friends. Perhaps, if you wanted, we could study together sometime? I would like to get to know you, and be your friend if you would let me," Harry offered with sincerity, finding that he didn't need to fake the emotion. Ron had not been himself, Harry had confirmed that when he received a discrete nod from Neville's direction. The other boy deserved a second chance, and though Harry knew that he could never fully trust Ron, not because of who he had been, but because of the fact that his mind had been so long deceived that it would be easy for it to happen again without Ron's notice.

"Sure, I think, I am pretty sure that I would like that. What about everyone else?" Ron questioned with a watery smile, gesturing toward Harry's group of friends. Harry shared a small smile with Percy and the twins as Hermione, Draco and Neville introduced themselves to the youngest red head. Ron returned each greeting politely, seemingly distracted enough by their appearance and friendliness to calm down somewhat.

"I'm glad that you want to be our friend," Harry smiled and presented the wand with one hand. "You dropped this, by the way. We were coming to bring it…" Harry stared in shock as Percy snatched up the wand and snapped it in half. The core revealed was vile enough that Percy then tossed the remnants across the room and set them aflame. Having no experience with wand making or its components, Harry was only certain that he had seen something gnarled and unpleasant before the wand was thrown away.

"The wand was the focus. Of course, the wand would be a very powerful focus when he would otherwise be surrounded by magic that would strip control away from his master…was that really what I think it was?" Neville said, sudden understanding coupled with what Harry had begun to deem 'Hufflepuff curiosity'.

"The finger nails of a Dementor," Percy said coldly and Ron was crying again, sandwiched safely between the twins.

"How long has he been under?" Neville whispered, knowing that it was upsetting the smallest of the red headed group, but needing to know. Percy's face grew stony and cold, Fred and George each frowned fiercely, eyes colder than Draco's when he got angry.

"Someone has been messing with him since he was four. We don't know how yet. But Dumbledore was always a welcome visitor, and Ron was completely awestruck by him," Percy gave a very matter of fact response, but Fred had more to add, and he was not nearly as calm.

"Since he was four! How can we call ourselves his brothers when we didn't even notice that something was wrong? None of us even guessed it! And we just…we didn't even try, we gave up on him because we thought he really was that bad," the closer of the twins said and hugged his little brother even closer, crying softly into his hair.

"With him that young, the manipulation could have been done enough in a subtle enough manner that no one would even notice. Dumbledore is a master of mind magic, you can't blame yourselves for not noticing," Neville insisted, voice firm, eyes shining with determination.

"Yeah, but we still aren't telling mom or dad, Merlin forbid if either of them were doing this to him," Percy said, soft and sad, no facts to back him up and make him strong, he seemed defeated.

Harry was livid that the Weasley boys didn't even know if they could trust their own parents because of Dumbledore's prying fingers. He clenched his fists and vowed to find a way to get the old man back for all the wrong he had done. However he did it, he would make sure that the master manipulator never saw it coming. After all, Dumbledore still believed that Harry was a pawn.

"You know," Harry breathed, "His mind started getting messed with at the same time as Dudley and I got sick."

The implications were not missed. Whatever Dumbledore was playing at, it was a very long game.


	6. Part 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dealing with a bit of the aftermath of Ron being freed.

They managed to get Ron calmed down again, all of them deciding that it would be best for the youngest Weasley boy if they stuck around for a while to keep his mind distracted. So they pushed some beds together and talked for a time, laughing and relaxing, though it was guarded. Occasionally Madam Pomfrey stepped out to give Ron a potion, smiling indulgently at the group of friends as they chatted happily. She ordered their lunch to the Hospital Wing tables and gave Harry his potion when it was time for it, and left them alone once again.

After they'd eaten they started checking on what Ron could remember of classes and his education. It seemed that the only thing that had truly been lost was his memory of friendships, his personality traits, and the conversations that he had had with Dumbledore. So, with the help of his brothers, he started to figure out what it was that the real Ron Weasley liked and found fun. Harry noted that it was the first time since they'd met that the other boy seemed to be genuinely happy. While he knew that there would never be a large amount of trust for Ron in his mind, he was certain that he had gained something of an ally.

Knowing about the situation with Harry, his friends, and Dumbledore's manipulations, Madam Pomfrey had elected not to alert the Headmaster of Ron's condition. When asked about why the boy was in the Infirmary, she had told his Professors and Madam Hooch to explain that he had suffered a severe allergic reaction and was in for extensive allergy testing. She knew that the boys didn't want the Weasley parents to be told, but she also knew that one of the older brothers was a Curse Breaker and had given Percy the parchment to send letters to both boys. She had sent them out by Owl post herself.

"I'm sorry my dears, but that was the bell. I shall keep young Mister Weasley company, but it would attract suspicion if you missed too many classes," the Healer said and the seven students gave hesitant nods. They gathered their things together and moved in the direction of the classes that they needed to attend.

Though they did not show it to their Professors, they were all distracted by the thought of what had happened to such a young, innocent child. Harry racked his brain to try to figure out what could have been keeping him under control when he was younger. He had to admit to himself that he didn't know Ron all that well, and wrote a note on the side of one of his scrap parchments to remind himself to ask Percy. Surely the older boy would remember if his brother had an attachment to something as a child.

The other question that was plaguing him was where the wand with the Dementor finger nails had come from. He knew that Mr. Ollivandar the wand maker wouldn't use such a component in his wands. All of the wands that were made in Great Brittan had to conform to Ministry regulations, and as Draco had informed them, only those cores that could not be Dark Aligned were permitted. Fred and George had confirmed that Dumbledore had given one of the family's old wands a once over to make sure that it could be used by Ron as a school instrument, and declared it sound.

Likely, they had suggested, their parents hadn't thought much about it, as Dumbledore had offered the service for free, when otherwise it would have cost money to have the wand re-certified as school safe. That, and with Dumbledore being a beacon of the Light, who in their right mind would believe that he was tampering with the wand of an innocent boy, much less that he would use it to control said boy.

"Harry? You look miles away. Thinking about your family again?" Draco asked as they sat at the Slytherin table for dinner. Harry blinked and tilted his head slightly, clearing his thoughts and breathing deeply.

"No, for once, I am not so worried about them. Dudley is going to be fine now; I can't wait to hear from him though. I am thinking about Ron, honestly. Wondering what the focus was, if he will be under control again when he goes home for the holidays, or if his parents had something to do with it. I know that there are a bunch of us working on this, but I can't help but feel like there is something obvious that we are missing," Harry said, voice soft and quiet, he had little interest in his dinner. Draco piled it up on his plate anyway, making sure that Harry ate so that they didn't have any of their teachers breathing down their throats.

"We will ask his brothers. The next time we see them, we will just try to find out if he had a favorite toy or something. Try not to worry Harry. Hermione is working on the origin of the wand core. Apparently she has always had an interest in that sort of thing. Neville is doing research on recovery techniques that will help Ron recover any memories of lucid moments that he had growing up. I think that you and I should visit my Uncle Severus, he is really good with mind healing, I think that he would help Ron," Draco said, pressing yet another pile of potatoes in Harry's direction. The green eyed boy sighed and started eating again, mind churning with possibilities.

"I guess that would be the best thing to do. At the very least I am sure that he noticed something and can be on the lookout for it again in the future. But, we just met with him this weekend, we should probably wait a day or two, just to make sure that Dumbledore doesn't get suspicious, I mean, he already looks upset," Harry said quietly and motioned toward the Head Table with his eyes. Draco took a subtle glance toward the Professors and saw that Harry really meant it, there was no twinkle to his eyes, and he even seemed to be frowning. It was a radical change for the jovial Headmaster.

"Perhaps things have been moving too fast. You have all the wrong friends, sure, but that doesn't mean you know anything. You are in Slytherin, but again, that doesn't mean that Severus cares about you. But if you are getting healthy as well..." Draco paused and cracked his back, taking a quick drink of milk before continuing, "Harry, I think that you should let Dumbledore see you in the halls with Ron, or visiting him in the Hospital Wing," Draco said, firmly, his eyes shining with the Slytherin scheming that he'd come to know and love.

Harry took a long moment to think about that. He pulled the breading off of his fish and mashed it into his potatoes, eating the fish plain before turning back toward Draco.

"I think you might be right," he offered, his thoughts turning around and around the subject. Perhaps when it came to Slytherin Gryffindor classes, he could spend some time talking to Ron during passing periods, as he already sat with Draco. It would also allow him to learn a little about Ron without having to spend too much time with the boy. After getting his own mind back, Harry thought it important that Ron make some of his own friends. Of course, that was after the Weasley brothers got done smothering the boy.

"Of course I'm right," Draco affirmed a smug smirk on his lips. Harry rolled his eyes, smiling as he did so. Somehow, and he wasn't sure how it happened, Draco always managed to improve his mood.


	7. Part 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry follows through with the plan and visits Ron in the Hospital Wing.

Tuesday, the day after the Flying incident, as they were attempting to call it covertly, Harry left Draco in the Slytherin Common Room and made his way up to the Hospital Wing to see Ron. By no means was he happy to be keeping with the plan, he wanted to spend his time working on writing his story, or maybe helping Draco with some of his drawings. But, he had been raised to keep his word, and to believe in second chances, so he didn't allow his doubts to get the better of him.

He wasn't expecting to find Dumbledore sitting in the Hospital Wing entrance having a glaring contest with Madam Pomfrey the Healer. It was Harry that seemed to snap them both out of it, and the anger that had been on Dumbledore's face shifted into a genial mask once more. Poppy smiled at Harry and he forced himself to give a more or less natural smile in response.

"Harry dear, I wasn't expecting you today," she said, seeming to indicate that he wasn't to mention Ron, as she had already told him yesterday that he could visit again. He blinked momentarily before summoning a blush and scratching the back of his head.

"I'm sorry Madam Pomfrey, but I wasn't able to eat very much at dinner, my stomach doesn't know how to be full all that often I guess," he fibbed, his blush heightening at the idea of having to outright lie to someone. He had been brought up better than that and in his mind Aunt Petunia was scolding him, possibly Dudley as well, threatening them with the Nintendo going in the cupboard under the stairs.

"That's quite alright dear, you tried didn't you?" she asked, attempting to appear stern while Dumbledore watched the entire exchange.

"I did Madam. But…I guess I was worried. You see, I heard that Ron was going to be having allergy tests, and I never got taken, but my cousin did. He always told me that they hurt and they weren't for little weaklings…and well Ron isn't as big as Dudley and I just…" Harry trailed off looking helpless and feeling it as well. He didn't know how to lie well enough to sneak his way into the Hospital Wing and that bothered him. Not to mention he had to say things about his family that weren't true, and he was already writing his apology letter to them in his mind, even though he hadn't really meant what he said.

"Poppy, there can't be any harm in letting the boy see his friend. I understand if you don't wish to let me in, but the young man should be allowed a little company," Dumbledore suggested, obviously buying into Harry's lies judging by the twinkle in his eyes. He didn't know that he had lost control and he thought that Harry was under his sphere of influence. Possibly, and Harry wasn't sure, the old man believed that by seeming to pull some strings for Harry to see his friends, he might gain a little higher standing in Harry's mind. The thought alone made him sick. Teachers were not supposed to pull strings and get students special allowances, they were supposed to be stern and not encourage the bending or breaking of the rules.

"I suppose you are right Albus. Would you like to have some time with Ron before curfew Harry?" she asked, her kindly tone was genuine and Harry nodded hesitantly. Dumbledore was slowly getting to his feet, his eyes on Harry, making the young man uncomfortable. But he knew that his mission had been accomplished, Dumbledore's suspicion would be off of Ron, at least for the time being.

Only once the Headmaster had gone did Madam Pomfrey quietly usher Harry into the room beyond, where the long lines of beds stood empty, save one. Ron's hair was a rude patch of color on the white sheets, and his face was buried in a book, one ink-stained hand holding a quill over some parchment. With some amusement Harry noticed that while his coordination with the ink was diminished, Ron's penmanship was much improved from the chicken-scratch that he had produced while under the influence of the wand.

"Harry?" Ron asked, a hopeful smile spreading over his lips, one that stung Harry deep down. He was going to have to maintain a careful distance from Ron to make sure that the boy was capable of making friends on his own. At the same time, he wished to give the other boy no reason to turn back to Dumbledore should the temptation be offered. It was after all, part of the plan to help Ron have a normal life, not turn him dark.

"Yeah, hey Ron, how are you feeling today?" Harry said, smiling and slipping into a chair beside Ron. The other boy wrinkled his nose as he thought, wiping the ink from his hand as best he could. Harry volunteered a simple cleaning spell and watched the look of wonder in stunningly bright blue eyes.

"I'm doing okay. My big brother Bill came by to see me. Said he'd never gotten an owl so quickly from anyone. I guess he got an emergency portkey in to the Burrow. Mum and Dad have been cleared of suspicion, but he says he's going to have a go of the whole house. I won't be going home for the hols if they don't find it, I suppose," Ron said, seeming glum and Harry shifted in his seat, trying to find comforting words. He knew that he had none, but smiled anyway.

"Well that's good. I'm glad that your parents aren't in on it, but I didn't really doubt them. Your dad, he works in the Ministry doesn't he?" Harry asked, changing topics and watching as Ron also shifted gears, something of a lopsided grin on his lips.

"Yeah, Misuse of Muggle Artifacts. He's barmy for muggle stuff though. Wants to know how it works and all," Ron admitted, he had an unbecoming blush like the rest of the Weasley children, but Harry didn't much care about that. Draco with his aesthetic pickiness would always point such things out afterward, but never to anyone's face. His mother would likely have a fit if she'd learned that he even did it in private. He was supposed to be a proper, polite, Pureblood boy after all.

"I live with muggles, never understood much of anything about the stuff though," Harry said, fudging the truth a little as he thought of all the things that he and Dudley had deconstructed in the pursuit of learning how they worked. Ron smiled and cocked his head, momentarily to relieve what Harry assumed was a cramp from the odd angle he had been laying at.

"Dad doesn't either. He thinks he does though," the redhead sat up and set his book aside, Harry noted that it was the 'Standard Book of Spells Grade 1' which he and Hermione frequently quoted at one another. He wasn't shocked that Ron was behind, noting that it was the previous week's essay that he was working on. Neville had told them that being under the influence of mind magic could slow the person's mind and inhibit academic function. It was worse than the Limiter Wand that the other boy still carried. At least there was a plan in place to get Neville a new wand over the holidays, Ron was wandless.

"I don't know if muggles understand how things work themselves, honestly," Harry said with a shrug, pulling Ron's essay toward himself and looking it over. He marked a few places and watched Ron blush at the corrections, though he didn't seem to be upset about them.

"You correct your friend's essays?" Ron asked and Harry looked up, placing the annotated parchment down on the bed.

"No, but they correct mine. That's how I learn what I've done wrong. It helps to have an in-house study group. You've got some pretty smart people in Gryffindor. And I know Percy will have told them that you'll be back. You should try to talk to some of them now that you aren't," Harry motioned a sort of zombie-like state. "He says that kids could tell something was off and were afraid, but they won't be now," he added and Ron smiled again. He gave an enthusiastic nod and began to work on a fresh piece of parchment to get down the changes that Harry had suggested. Madam Pomfrey quietly ushered Harry out after that.


End file.
